


Smudges of Blue

by orphan_account



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Altean Lance (Voltron), Captured Lance, Dark, F/M, Lance is Allura's Brother, Lance is psychic, M/M, Manipulation, Takes place a bit before the 2nd season finale, Torture, blue paladin lance, red paladin keith
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-17
Updated: 2018-04-17
Packaged: 2019-04-24 08:21:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14351622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: After a mission goes horribly wrong, it's up to Keith to rescue the Blue Paladin from Haggar and Zarkon's clutches. He just hopes he's not too late.





	Smudges of Blue

Lance was angry. He had tried to calm down. He was the Prince of Altea, and such an outburst was uncalled for. Allura would be disappointed. Though, he hadn't cared. His hand was balled into a fist at his side. He couldn't believe it.

He had just punched Keith. He felt bad, but at the same time, he didn't care.

"I don't get you! You treat my sister with respect because she's the princess, but you  _hate_ me. I'm just as important as her!" He shouted, and his eyes didn't miss how Keith's expression became one of shock.

What was their to be shocked about? Lance didn't understand. Was he surprised that he finally pushed Lance hard enough.

Keith took a step forward, the two were close, mere inches apart. His expression had went back to being neutral as he stared into Lance's Cerulean eyes.

"I don't hate you, never did. You just don't act like a leader."

Ouch.

That hurt Lance more than he would ever admit. He always thought he wasn't serious enough for a prince, he feared the others thought he was the weak link of the group.

No, he refused to believe he didn't offer anything to Voltron. He knew just as much about the Galra as Alurra. Plus, he was the Blue Paladin. He offered enough. Still, what if they didn't see it like he did?

Keith already thought he was a bad leader. What if the others did too? There was a lump in his throat. Though, Lance didn't want to just stand there and have Keith just stare at him. That's not how their rivalry worked!

"And you do, Keith? I would  _love_ to see  _you_ handle being a prince AND a Paladin, Keith." He sneered, despite not feeling that great. He wore a smile, but there was bitterness in it. Usually, he was able to handle Keith's criticism and not be hurt too bad by it, but something was off. In the last week, he had felt sick. His stomach twisted, telling him something was wrong. Even Blue felt something big was going to happen shortly.

A threat like that didn't sound good, and he was worried for his fellow Paladins, Coran, and his sister. What if something went wrong? Would he be of any use to his team? He prayed he'd be helpful. He didn't want to be nothing but a burden, he was a prince, he was a Paladin of Voltron, he had to be strong, or else, what was the point?

Though, he was even more worried, no one else felt that horrible feeling in his gut. No one was aware that something bad was going to happen. Not even Allura believed his warning. She thought it was nothing but him not being well rested, or just a bad case of anxiety, but he knew it was something more. Blue agreed with him, he knew it.

So, hearing Keith's words hurt. He just wanted to help protect those he cared about, but it seemed Keith did not see him capable.

"A prince? You don't even have anyone to serve you."

But, that hurt even more.

As soon as those words escaped the red Paladin's mouth, he regretted it. He didn't mean for the argument to get personal, that's now how their rivalry worked. Keith knew Lance missed Altea. Lance missed home more than anyone on the ship, and there he was brining up things that reminded Lance that everyone in Altea didn't make it! He didn't mean to! It wasn't supposed to come out that way. As he looked in Lance 's blue eyes, he knew he screwed up. He just wanted to one up Lance in an argument, not make him upset.

He saw Lance turn around, and he tried to reach the other boy's shoulder but his arm went weak.

"Lance, wait." He called out. Lance turned his head, but didn't say a word as he left the room.

* * *

Ranting to Hunk helped a lot. Lance had found him growing close to the yellow Paladin. He was as sweet as he was a good cook. Pidge was pretty awesome too, but she was currently too busy helping Coran improve the defense systems on the castle. So, it was just him and Hunk conversing, which he didn't mind. They were best friends after all.

"He pretty much said I'm not a good leader! You think i'm a good leader, right?" He paused, a nervous laugh escaping his lips. "Besides, he wouldn't be able to survive without good ol' Sharpshooter here!''

Hunk laughed, not one that threatened or embarrassed Lance in the slightest, in fact it made Lance smile.

"Yeah, just give him time. Even on Earth he wasn't really a people person. This is just how he acknowledges you."

"By hating me? " Lance asked. thrusts not how things worked on Altea.

"Not necessarily, Lance. You'll see it one day."

Lance didn't quite know what that meant. Then again, he didn't understand a lot of things the humans spoke of.

* * *

"You guys ready to kick some purple butts!?" He shouted into his communication device, as he took a seat in his chair of the Blue Lion. He could hear the groans of Pidge and Keith at his loud screaming, while Hunk just cheered him on. At least someone appreciated his enthusiasm, he snickered to himself.

He was excited for the mission, but he wouldn't lie, a bit of him was nervous. The feeling in his stomach still hadn't went away, but it was a chance to stop Zarkon, and any chance to beat his family's enemy was enough for him to be just as determined as the rest of the team. Besides, he was a Paladin of Voltron, he couldn't let himself to get scared in such a way that it prevented him from fighting back.

Not only that, he had something to prove to Keith.

He was a great Paladin, and he was a good prince.

He'd show them all just who Lance was. The team's sharpshooter and strong Paladin.

"This is serious. If we do this right, we defeat Zarkon for good." Shiro's stern voice was heard by all of those listening. Simultaneously, everyone hummed in agreement.

They all wanted the same thing. To end the war, to kill off Zarkon's destructive reign. Lance wanted nothing more than to defeat the man who killed his father and destroyed Altea. Though, he was nervous. Their last plan didn't quite work out, and Shiro had said the same words. Could this really be the end of Zarkon, and the Galra empire? He sure hoped so. He wasn't sure how much more Allura could handle. She had been so exhausted recently, along with Coran.

The Paladins weren't doing much better, himself included. They were tired, sore, and not in the healthiest of states. Not only that but, Pidge had her own mission. She wanted to find her brother as soon as she could. Hunk missed his family, and friends, back on Earth. Keith was interested in joining the Blade of Marmora. Shiro had things to do on Earth too. They were all fighting for something. Then there was Lance. He wasn't sure what he was going to do. He could travel with Allura and Coran, he could go to Earth with his friends, he could become something of his own. He could do whatever he wanted. It was a thought that brought a smile to his face.

He could be free.

He could do whatever his heart desired. It was nice to think about. It made him more determined than ever to take down Zarkon and bring freedom back to the universe. That was his mission. His father's last wishes. Him and Allura both swore to make those wishes a reality.

This was it.

"Lance, Keith, You two will sneak inside the main command ship. Once inside, you'll shut the main power source off. That'll limit Zarkon's defenses and attacks for about a half varga."

Both Keith and Lance's eyes widened from within their lions. Neither of them wanted to pair up, they just didn't work well together. Besides, wouldn't it have been better to send in Pidge and Hunk? They actually knew how to deal with technology. Lance and Keith knew some things, but their knowledge was limited compared to the other two Paladins. Lance was a bit nervous. It was rare that he didn't believe in Shiro's plan. Though, this was frightening.

For Voltron, he'd put his doubts aside, but that didn't mean he didn't want at least an explanation on the current plan.

"Me and Keith? Shiro, not judging you or anything, but.. We're like the least informed about nerd tech." He said, making sure his pitch didn't sound rude. He leveled it to where it could be taken as a joke if he needed it to be.

There was static for a moment, but that was it before another voice broke through the small noise.

"Speak for yourself, Lance." Keith had said, and Lance didn't really know how to respond.

Keith sounded aggravated, Lance cringed, gripping the controls of Blue harder. Why did Keith have to take everything to heart? Didn't he see it was just a joke?

"I was speaking for myself. I said WE, me included, Mullet." Lance didn't mean to sound bitter but it definitely came out that way.

"Keith, Lance. This is a serious mission. Keep your arguing under control!" Lance heard his sister say, she sounded very disappointed. She often had that tone when the two boys argued.

Lance sighed. He could do this. He had no problem working with Keith. He was just nervous that Keith wouldn't want to work with him. If the two couldn't pull it together, there would be consequences. Ones that Lance didn't want to face. The feeling in his stomach hasn't disappeared. If something went wrong,it was possible that something horrible would occur. Something none of them were prepared for.


End file.
